Do Germans Talk About World War II?

Today I wanted to speak about whether or not Germans talk about World War II and my experience with this topic while studying abroad. I share a bit about the openness of most Germans that was both unexpected and surprising, as well as how the content was presented in my high school or Gymnasium. My host family also took me to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds Documentation Center in Nuremberg which influenced my perspective on the war and modern-day Germany greatly. I say this in the video, but all of these experiences were very personal, so not everyone may feel the same way. Either way, I hope that this video gives you a bit more insight into how WWII and the Holocaust shape modern-day Germany and how they are publicly addressed.
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My name is Montana Showalter, and I was a participant of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange program in 2019-2020. I started my KZread channel while living in Germany and continue to make videos on German vs American culture. I love finding aspects of German culture in the US as well as producing videos in German as practice!

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  • @timschulz9563
    @timschulz95632 жыл бұрын

    WW2 is everywhere in German schools. The goal is that students don't just know about WW2, they want the students to know what caused both world wars and how to prevent that from happening again.

  • @__-zb9vz

    @__-zb9vz

    2 жыл бұрын

    That´s so true. The first time we read a book about that topic was in third grade. It was "Ich bin ein Stern" and since then, it was always part of the Curriculum. We discussed it in german class, biology, pedagogy, psychology, history and ethics. It´s always kind of "funny" to hear that people believe it would be a taboo or we would get offended.

  • @emma_the_muggle7298

    @emma_the_muggle7298

    2 жыл бұрын

    Nothing agains Austria, but the were involved too, so.......

  • @azounx

    @azounx

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think it's mostly about National Socialism and the Holocaust. WW2 is usually discussed rather briefly. Military history is not big in Germany (compared to the UK or the US). The only battle most students have heard of is Stalingrad. Nobody knows Wieluń or Tobruk, very few know el-Alamein or Montecassino. Also, massacres like Oradour-sur-Glane are overshadowed by the Holocaust. Dunkirk is pretty well known now after the film of the same name but I'm not sure it came up in school (probably half a sentence in a text).

  • @ichbinda3000

    @ichbinda3000

    2 жыл бұрын

    We discussed Oradour in our French class; I remember that we also read a French poem about it.

  • @noble6357

    @noble6357

    2 жыл бұрын

    ITS COMING HOME HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

  • @lilli9189
    @lilli91892 жыл бұрын

    It’s important to talk about it so history doesn’t repeat itself. I’m German and in we talk about it a lot! It’s sad that ppl still only associate the war with us🥴

  • @screenhd4288

    @screenhd4288

    2 жыл бұрын

    True, es kommt aber auf die Leute an xD Wir lernen einfach aus der Geschichte, dass wir nichts aus Geschichte lernen.

  • @lilli9189

    @lilli9189

    2 жыл бұрын

    Screen HD ja leider hahah

  • @screenhd4288

    @screenhd4288

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@klasch059 Kein Kommentar. Dachte was schreibt mir denn jetzt für ein Boomer einen Aufsatz. Ein wenig enttäuscht dass es ein Reichsbürger ist.

  • @jhdix6731

    @jhdix6731

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@klasch059 Moment mal. kannst Du Dich mal bitte entscheiden. Wenn Du sagst, der erste Weltkrieg sei nie beendet worden, wie kann dann der 3. da sein?

  • @klasch059

    @klasch059

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@screenhd4288, um Gotteswillen, ich bin doch kein Reichsbürger ..., nicht mal im Entferntesten, denn die gibt es tatsächlich erst durch Hitler und sein Reichsbürgergesetz von 1935 und ich würde solche Bestrebungen das Deutsche Reich zu zerstören ..., oder gar zum Staat zu machen definitiv nicht unterstützen oder dulden. Ich habe euch doch gebeten, euch mit der wahren Geschichte zu befassen und eben nicht mit den Lügen von kriminellen Regierungen der Neuzeit. Ich würde die Nazis gerne bremsen auf ihrem Weh der Welteroberung, aber England verhindert das mit seinen Kolonien, von denen die USA auch eine ist. Was meist du wer die Präsidentschaftswahlen gefälscht hat? Oder wer dieser Welt, Corona diktierte und nun alle in diese dummen Regeln zwingt und euch alle durchimpfen will? Ich liebe die Menschen weltweit, aber ich kann sie nicht schützen, wenn sie das nicht wünschen oder wollen, denn Wissen schützt vor Fehlern. Ich müsste eigentlich traurig sein und ganz ehrlich bin ich das auch manchmal, weil ich so hilflos bin und das nicht, weil ihr euch nun bereitwillig Opfert, sondern das ihr es nicht besser geprüft habt, was man euch für Angebote macht. 43 Jahre versuche ich die Menschen aufzuwecken, leider nur mit mäßigem Erfolg. Die Macht der offiziellen Mainstreammedien gepaart mit einem infiltrierten Bildungssystem ist leider größer als die Vernunft der meisten Menschen. Schade.

  • @renamation8098
    @renamation80982 жыл бұрын

    Basically, after you've reached the 8th grade the teacher barely talks about anything else than second and first world war or Weimarer Republik

  • @zombee0036

    @zombee0036

    2 жыл бұрын

    for me 8th grade was feudal times up to industrial revolution. ww1 was 10th grade and ww2 + surroundings was 11th and 12th grade

  • @jansarstedt1063

    @jansarstedt1063

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think we never specifically talked about WW1🤔 just as a precursor for the Weimar Republic and it's fall, which is a petty. It's a really interesting conflict and the key to understanding the first half of the 20th century.

  • @Lormenkal64

    @Lormenkal64

    2 жыл бұрын

    yeah its pretty sad how overfocused we are on this in history lessons

  • @thomaswolf2896

    @thomaswolf2896

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@zombee0036 That's true for the history classes, but WWII and the Nazis are covered in pretty much every single class. We started with "Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl" in 3rd grade - and I'm note even sure it was the first time.

  • @zombee0036

    @zombee0036

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@thomaswolf2896 nope it isnt. it might have been like that at your school but you cant generalize curricula. i on my part heard about the 3d reich only in history classes, with maybe one book in german classes for abitur and in religion classes in the context of morals. i never heard about 3d reich in classes until 10th grade

  • @johannaloos931
    @johannaloos9312 жыл бұрын

    Many classes also go to visit old concentration camps which is mentally very stressfull and takes a lot of preparation to kind of brace yourself for it because it hits you emotionally way more then expected. Also we value talking about ww2 to educate and prevent history repeating itself

  • @folkehoffmann1198

    @folkehoffmann1198

    2 жыл бұрын

    I havent been to a concentration camp but part of my class went on a class trip to Prague and while we were there we also visited Theresienstadt. This was "only" a work camp but it was already really depressing. I dont know, maybe my class went to a concentration camp while I was an exchange student in the U.S. but I didnt go to one during my time in school.

  • @3.k

    @3.k

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@folkehoffmann1198 Before the topic came up in history class, I attended a kind of educational youth camp, and we visited Mittelbau Dora near Nordhausen. This was the first time for me to learn who the Nazis were and what they did. I don’t think that we ever visited a museum of that kind during any school trip.

  • @becca5161

    @becca5161

    2 жыл бұрын

    isn't it mandatory to visit a concentration camp in grade 9? I'm from Baden-Württemberg and we visited Dachau in 9th grade

  • @folkehoffmann1198

    @folkehoffmann1198

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@becca5161 That probably depends on which state you live in and maybe also what kind of school you go to.

  • @johannaloos931

    @johannaloos931

    2 жыл бұрын

    Since we have different curricular in different parts of germany it some parts may have a visit as mandatory and some don't, i think in my part (Niedersachsen) it is recommended but not mandatory. I have friends who did not visit a concentration camp but railway tracks and old trains used to transport to those camps and some who only watched movies on them as part of their curricular, but i also have many who visited camps

  • @florianbrogeler8172
    @florianbrogeler81722 жыл бұрын

    Hey, German Guy here. I think its pretty important to say its actually a Crime in Germany to denie the holocaust because its considered to be disrespectful to all the victims

  • @Ghost_Kevlar

    @Ghost_Kevlar

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's illegal in many countries.

  • @micchaelsanders6286

    @micchaelsanders6286

    2 жыл бұрын

    So you don't believe in free speech. Germany is using nazi tactics to stop the rise of nazism.

  • @Gucci-fo6vv

    @Gucci-fo6vv

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@micchaelsanders6286 that's denial and ignorance

  • @micchaelsanders6286

    @micchaelsanders6286

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Gucci-fo6vv No. it’s what’s happening. You cannot restrict free speech, even if it’s ugly.

  • @raizenxdd

    @raizenxdd

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@micchaelsanders6286 finaly someone who isnt brainwashed

  • @noobster4779
    @noobster47792 жыл бұрын

    Also one big difference I noticed in the difference between mainly the english speaking world compared to german education on all things related to WW2. In germany the actual war part doesnt matter. We generally cover the war aspect basically along the lines of: "War started, we invaded theses countries, then the Soviet Union, this was the maximal extend of germany, Stalingrad, germany got pushed back on all sides, war reached germany and millions had to flee in the east, Hitler shoot himself, Occupation zones" - this is covered in basically one or two 45 minute lessons. But on the other hand we focus the other 90% of the history lessons on: "How did the Nazis rise to power (in detail), How did the first german democracy fail, How did the nazis "usurp" the state institutions for their purpose, society in nazi germany. And then the big topics of: "normal" War crimes (non holocaust related stuff like massacres of civilians for example) during the war, the Holocaust specifically, where and how did the concentration camp/extermination camp system work. Also a very important part is the indoctrination of the population and the hole "how did it come to this in these few years" aspects. These topics cover, depending on school form, up to half a year or more of history class in your final school years. meanwhile in the english speaking world it is more like: "this is how the frontline moved, this battle was important, that general was great during that battle, combat was brutal, D-Day, etc." The main focus is the war while the war crimes and especially the rise of the nazis are only a side topic. Personally I definitly prefer the german way on this topic (might also be because Im more familiar to it so im clearly biased). The war itself honestly is compleatly irrelevant apart from the start and its end result. What we should learn from WW2 is how a countries democracy got entirely turned around into a facist dictatorship that made one of the most "civilized and modern" people of its time (germany in the 1920s was very open and modern) into complicit and active mass murderers that would fight for a dictatorship to the bitter end within barely a decade of nazi rule so that future generations wont make the same/similar mostakes :)

  • @wora1111

    @wora1111

    2 жыл бұрын

    Never looked at it the way you just did. But now I have to agree. And exactly this type of questions "How could they get into this mess?" are the questions I asked myself when looking at the post election chaos in the USA last year.

  • @koloblicin4599

    @koloblicin4599

    2 жыл бұрын

    Das hat mich damals auch gewundert. WR, Vorkriegszeit, [...] Einmarsch der roten Armee, Nachkriegszeit. 😅 ergibt ja aber eigentlich auch Sinn. Man will keine feldzüge und Einheiten glorifizieren, relevante Politik wurde nicht mehr gemacht und das Leid der Bevölkerung(en) sieht man danach auch noch. Die eigentliche(n) Schlacht(en) mögen militärisch relevant sein, aber gesellschaftlich und historisch geht es doch um eben die genannten anderen Aspekte.

  • @wora1111

    @wora1111

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@koloblicin4599 Hat aber auch Sinn gemacht. Habe ich aber erst verstanden, als ich meiner Tochter 30 Jahre später, also kurz vor ihrem Abitur, erklären konnte, wie eine Inflation entsteht und welche Folgen das hat.

  • @florianmeier3186

    @florianmeier3186

    2 жыл бұрын

    It seems your history class was rather poor? 90% Nazi times? In our case it was maybe 8-10% which is still rather significant. But 90%? That means the rest of the European and German history in less than a year? That is a pitty.

  • @Patriciadaaa

    @Patriciadaaa

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@florianmeier3186 we don‘t go to school for only a year….just saying

  • @schmonsi
    @schmonsi2 жыл бұрын

    I think it is not a taboo topic but more that there are not really situations in life which reminds of the ww2 so you won't often talk about it. I think you can also see it in the fact that youtube channels like MrWissen2Go Geschichte has made lots of videos to ww2 and that the TV channel Arte produces from time to time documentaries aubout this topic. I think germans are most if all open minded to ww2. But we really hate it if people in other countries only connect germany with hitler and when they do the "hitler Gruß" and joke about this horrible time because this is a no go!

  • @Paulettchen

    @Paulettchen

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hast du gut zusammengefasst. Ist ja auch ein langes Thema in der Schule. Hatte bestimmt 1-2 Schuljahre im Geschichtsunterricht nur das Thema

  • @tiberius8390

    @tiberius8390

    2 жыл бұрын

    Other countries tend to joke over WWII a lot more than Germany. Here many jokes are a no-go, but I don't know many people who really get offended by it. It's just that as a German you usually don't joke about it much. It's not considered appropriate. But what I really don't like is when today's Germans are still blamed for what happened during WWII. It should not be forgotten and we should learn from it but today there is practically nobody alive who can be held responsible. There are quite a few who think we should still be ashamed and repent, even though today's German population is like 2 or even 3 generations away from WWII and had nothing to do with it. I firmly don't believe in hereditary debt or probably every single person on earth could throw themselves under a bus because what our ancestors did hundreds or thousands of years ago.

  • @Paulettchen

    @Paulettchen

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@tiberius8390 yeah I hate that some people still blame germans who have nothing to do with WW2 for what happened. It Sometimes Happens to me in online Multiplayer Games when I Chat With Random people. I have nothing to do with what happened ages ago and I can't Change History what do these people expect?

  • @tiberius8390

    @tiberius8390

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Paulettchen Online games are a trollfest anyway. ;)

  • @Paulettchen

    @Paulettchen

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@tiberius8390 yeah you're right

  • @veronikalove6416
    @veronikalove64162 жыл бұрын

    I was born in Germany and live there, but when I’m honest I don’t think it is a tabu and the most people can agree with me. I really don’t understand why all people in America think that we never talk about it or are shy every time someone ask us something about it

  • @D0MiN0ChAn

    @D0MiN0ChAn

    2 жыл бұрын

    Because most Americans shy away from facing and talking about their own cruel history; from Native Americans to slavery/black people's oppression. Yet they love to claim what heroes they are for liberating Germany from the Nazis, all the while it's perfectly okay to wave a Hakenkreuzflagge in the US and go unpunished for this :/

  • @KJ-md2wj

    @KJ-md2wj

    2 жыл бұрын

    Americans made so many films about WW2 and played them on TV for decades, so most Amis are more aware and focussed. Now you can watch them on N-TV ad nauseam. Also the holocaust is made omnipresent in the USA.

  • @flo478

    @flo478

    2 жыл бұрын

    @Deep Claymore naja, ich denke in der Bildung und im Gespräch konzentriert man sich hierzulande eher auf die "wichtigen" Dinge und nicht auf irgendwelche Schlachten, die die Nazis gewonnen haben.

  • @dariann1661

    @dariann1661

    2 жыл бұрын

    Well they are literally trying to make it illegal to talk about history that isn’t white washed and sugarcoated here so I suppose that’s why.

  • @StephenASmithESPN

    @StephenASmithESPN

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@D0MiN0ChAn oh please that was in the 1400-1700 like 14 generations ago when there was still empires and kings. Germany did unspeakable acts against mankind in the past 80 years. Literally one generation ago. We are surprised they are so open about it bc we know there grandpas and grandmas were very much nazi supporters until shit hit the fan. That shocks us that they are so open to that like it’s a good thing

  • @tumbler9428
    @tumbler94282 жыл бұрын

    We talk about it a lot in school. I mean, a lot :-) Not only in history classes, but also in German, Polisci, Religion & Philosophy classes and others. Covering all the different aspects of it, like Hitler and the Nazi party and how they got into power, persecution of Jews in the 1930s, the economic boom, the beginnung of the war and, of course, the Holocaust. How hard it was for parents and their kids to speak about it in the aftermath. After all, I think it's good we dealt with this subject so intensely, for maybe now we have kind of an early warning system when it comes to fascism, xenophobia, far right nationalism and things like that. Things that are not yet overcome, unfortunately, even in Germany. And yes, all these incidents have been very recently. They took place in a world and conditions that have not been so very different from our's today.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @knorkstargames6481
    @knorkstargames64812 жыл бұрын

    I think we are the most reflected people on this topic and our role in the war. Because of this, we hate it to travel abroad and get greeded by the Hitler greeting or any nationalism-related stuff. I would love other countries to be a bit more sensitive, serious and respectful about this topic. In honor of those who died and those who suffered. We as Germans have learnt from the past and sweared to ourselves to never repeat the history but some countries or people might not be that reflected at this point...

  • @nicolasduweit3611

    @nicolasduweit3611

    2 жыл бұрын

    Sorry but my english is not good enough for the anwere i want to make, so i'll make it in german. Wo bitte haben die Deutschen aus dem deutschen Faschismus gelernt? Die Lehren aus dem deutschen Faschismus waren vielen deutschen vor 75 Jahren sehr viel klarer als heute. So gab es eine breite Stimmung gegen die Monopole die die Hauptprofiteure des deutschen Faschismus waren. Es war jedoch der reaktionäre Teil der in Zusammenarbeit mit den USA siegte und die Nazikriegsverbrecher, wie beispielsweise einen Krupp, nach nur wenigen Prozesstagen freisprachen, weshalb deren Nachfahren noch heute von den Ergebnissen von Krieg, Zwangsarbeit und Massenmord leben. Es gab außerdem eine massive personelle Kontinuität in der Politik, der Justiz, der Schule, den Universitäten, dem Militär usw. Die CDU/CSU vertrat noch vor wenigen Jahrzehnten offen Revanchistische Anschauungen gegenüber Polen und anderen Osteuropäischen Staaten. Seit 1990 tritt in Deutschland eine neue Mentalität zutage die ich auch in deinem Statement wiederfinde. Nämlich der Anspruch auf Weltmacht, abgeleitet aus diesem geläutert sein durch den deutschen Faschismus. So kommt es, dass ein Joschka Fischer sich in den 90ern hinstellen und einen Angriffkrieg Deutschlands mit dem wahnwitzigen Argument begründet, dass es an den Deutschen wäre ein zweites Auschwitz in Jugoslawien (welch eine Relativierung) zu verhindern. Die Lehren aus dem Faschismus die dann in meiner Schulzeit verbreitet wurden lassen sich dann grob auf eine moralische Verurteilung von Massenmord und Krieg herunterbrechen um dann mit großer Geste das Dogma, dass man aus der Geschichte gelernt habe zu fabrizieren. Worin diese Lehren bestünden, außer einer moralischen Verurteilung, das blieb diese Schule mir zumindest schuldig. Diese Deutschen die noch jeden Angriffskrieg der Bundeswehr seit 1990 geduldet haben, die rassistische Morde auf ihren Straßen dulden und wie eine Reality Soap konsumieren, haben mit Sicherheit nicht das Recht sich als geläuterte aufzuspielen. Die Lehren aus ihrer Geschichte hat dieses Deutschland erst noch zu ziehen.

  • @D0MiN0ChAn

    @D0MiN0ChAn

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@nicolasduweit3611 Wo ist denn bitte im Kommentar oben ein vermeintlich gewünschter "Anspruch auf Weltmacht" zu entnehmen?

  • @nicolasduweit3611

    @nicolasduweit3611

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@D0MiN0ChAn Das kommt dabei heraus wenn man beim Schreiben zwar den Gedanken aber noch nicht den fertigen Satz im Kopf hat. Da habe ich mich etwas missverständlich ausgedrückt. In dem Kommentar, da hast du natürlich recht, ist nicht unmittelbar ein Weltmachtanspruch formuliert aber die moralische Überheblichkeit des ach so geläuterten Deutschen, der sich vom Rest der Welt doch bitte wünscht die deutsche Geschichte mindestens ebenso vorbildlich aufzuarbeiten wie die Deutschen selbst. Der eigene Läuterungsprozess ist abgeschlossen und das ist die Grundlage um vom Täter zum Richter zu werden. (Unbenommen, dass die wenigsten von uns noch selbst Täter in diesem Zusammenhang sein dürften)

  • @ganimagalaktika5720
    @ganimagalaktika57202 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Montana for going all the way!

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @elise8352
    @elise83522 жыл бұрын

    Really interesting! I'm staying since September 2021 in the UK and I find it so interesting to see how different the perspectives are. It was really helpful to see your video and as a German I would say that you understood very good how Germans think about world war 2 and how they are today. Thanks 😊

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @Dusti71
    @Dusti712 жыл бұрын

    sehr interessant :) .. Dein bestes Video bis jetzt

  • @TomTomson81
    @TomTomson812 жыл бұрын

    One characteristic of Germans is self-reflection. We deal with our mistakes, while others like to bury them. That's why it was so surprising to you. You probably don't know anything like that from your country. 🙂 Nice video again. 👍

  • @noobster4779

    @noobster4779

    2 жыл бұрын

    At least since the 1970s...before that it was more the "nothing to talk about / collectively keep silent". Since then it has gotten far better :D

  • @TomTomson81

    @TomTomson81

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@noobster4779 I started school at the end of the 80s.

  • @Lormenkal64

    @Lormenkal64

    2 жыл бұрын

    Not really at this point its mostly just moral self elevation for the most part as explained here kzread.info/dash/bejne/eaKJ09R_adCncZs.html

  • @florianmeier3186

    @florianmeier3186

    2 жыл бұрын

    Correct statement would be: We think that we are the most and only self-reflecting, but actually we bury quite a lot especially our chauvinism and ignorance and underestimate everybody else. That is why we started two wars where everybody with a clear mind knows they cannot be won except our stupid ancestors.

  • @TomTomson81

    @TomTomson81

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@florianmeier3186 Your statement underlines my statement. Thanks for the confirmation.

  • @jhdix6731
    @jhdix67312 жыл бұрын

    I tend to disagree a bit. In my opinion WW2 itself (the military aspect), while not a tabu, is not really a topic. What IS taught is mostly about the "Nazizeit", the political and social climate created by the NSDAP, with the aim to keep up awareness in order to make sure it doesn't happen again.

  • @koloblicin4599

    @koloblicin4599

    2 жыл бұрын

    Das hat mich damals auch gewundert. WR, Vorkriegszeit, [...] Einmarsch der roten Armee, Nachkriegszeit. 😅 ergibt ja aber eigentlich auch Sinn. Man will keine feldzüge und Einheiten glorifizieren, relevante Politik wurde nicht mehr gemacht und das Leid der Bevölkerung(en) sieht man danach auch noch.

  • @christianc6331

    @christianc6331

    2 жыл бұрын

    I agree the Focus is on the way how German society get to WW2 with all the Bad that happens

  • @scottevil4531

    @scottevil4531

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think thats also a great difference in history classes in general between the US and Germany. From what I heard from others in US history classes they learn a lot about the individual battles, while in german history classes individiual battles are rarely mentioned. On the other hand we go way deeper into the backrounds, ideologies and causes of a war than history classes in the US.

  • @jamesthezemnian753

    @jamesthezemnian753

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@christianc6331 are you suggesting, that good had happened?

  • @jamesthezemnian753

    @jamesthezemnian753

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scottevil4531 yes i think so too, tbh i dont see why individual battles are that important. I dont need to know exactly why germany lost the Battle in Stalingrad, knowing the tactics doesnt give me valuable infomrations. It is much more i nteresting and valuable how the nazis communicated that loss. How people got on board with forcing hundreds of thousands to the todesmärsche ... that ist much more valuable to learn imo to make sure it doesnt happen again

  • @andreaskeil204
    @andreaskeil2042 жыл бұрын

    it's the darkest part of our history...so it is a must to learn a lot about it...and we do a lot. i wish, kids in the US would learn more about the genocide in north-America or slavery

  • @MontanaShowalter

    @MontanaShowalter

    2 жыл бұрын

    I agree.

  • @hanszimmer9224

    @hanszimmer9224

    2 жыл бұрын

    the 30 years war was much more devastating and horrible for germany than wwII

  • @unnu8368

    @unnu8368

    2 жыл бұрын

    Trust me Americans are reminded everyday about slavery lmao

  • @StephenASmithESPN

    @StephenASmithESPN

    2 жыл бұрын

    America is very aware of slavery which is why racism is still real and alive today in America dummy. You’re speaking about Britain and Spain with the genocide that first discovered America. Not like it was our relatives or anything like Germany where there grandparents were nazi supporters and just like 80 years ago. How could you even claim to be naive to not know what was happening to allow such a evil man take leadership of y’all’s country

  • @StephenASmithESPN

    @StephenASmithESPN

    2 жыл бұрын

    Your country was very poor and y’all hated it so chose to kill off everyone and gain control and wealth but when shit hit the fan and yall leader took such a coward way out. We took ur money away in ww1 and y’all cried about it and started ww2 so we helped y’all rebuild. You don’t show the flag or rep it for a reason

  • @luka_phx8095
    @luka_phx80952 жыл бұрын

    WW2 is actually one of the thing we learn like every year in history class about haha. I mean it’s important but we kinda skip all other parts of history to repeat that topic all year :) But nice video to see all this from an American perspective 🙏

  • @MontanaShowalter

    @MontanaShowalter

    2 жыл бұрын

    thank you so much!

  • @carpediem5232

    @carpediem5232

    2 жыл бұрын

    Which school did you go to. Even for history class this isn't the case. WW2 is onl part of the curriculum for 2 years in history. "all other parts of history" are skipped? Where?

  • @luka_phx8095

    @luka_phx8095

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@carpediem5232 Ich meine klar in 5&6 haben wir auch noch bisschen anderen Stuff gemacht ( Ägypten, Mittelalter, Römer, etc. ) aber spätestens ab der siebten hatten wir jedes Jahr ( wenn auch nicht nur ) die Weimarer Republik oder den zweiten Weltkrieg als Thema :) Und ich war auf nem Gymnasium in BW Hab ich so aber auch schon von paar Kollegen gehört 🤷‍♂️

  • @carpediem5232

    @carpediem5232

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@luka_phx8095 Höchst unwahrscheinlich. In 7/8 geht es ums Mittelalter (nicht in der 5/6) frühe Neuzeit Französosche Revolution etc. Erst in der 9 wird Die NS zeit das erste mal thematisiert. Dann wird es in der Oberstufe noch ein Halbjahr vertieft. Dazu kann man sich sowohl die offiziellen Bildungspläne als auch Lehrwerke anschauen. Sollte es an deiner Schule so passiert sein, hätte sie sich also gegen die norm gestellt. Es kann sein, dass die NS Zeit an Projekttagen oder bei Ausflügen vorher thematisiert wird, dafür andere Themen ausfallen zu lassen wäre sehr ungewöhnlich.

  • @luka_phx8095

    @luka_phx8095

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@carpediem5232 Wie gesagt bei uns war es so in der Art. Dass es im Bildungsplan anders drinnensteht ist mit auch bewusst. Vielleicht hatten wir das ganze auch 1 2 Jahre später angefangen, aber spätestens ab der 8/9 habe ich jedes Jahr was vom zweiten Weltkrieg gehört. Das war sogar so n ding das sogar die Lehrer das wussten. Die sind dann als neue Lehrkraft beispielsweise reingekommen und haben gesagt dass sie dieses Jahr mal wieder wie die letzen Jahre was zum theme NS Zeit etc machen werden 😅🤷‍♂️

  • @michielvoetberg4634
    @michielvoetberg46342 жыл бұрын

    That German eagle symbol is not a Nazi thing. Ever seen the flag of the Holy Roman Empire? Flag of the Deutsches Kaiserreich? Weimar Republic?

  • @wasweiich2190

    @wasweiich2190

    2 жыл бұрын

    Bundeswappen Deutschlands, Deutsche Mark...

  • @PetstoUwU

    @PetstoUwU

    2 жыл бұрын

    Depends on the context and the way the eagle looks. Does it look like a "Fette Henne" (fat chicken) it's our current eagle. Does it look like its hunting a mice stay away from it....

  • @thomasfranz6467

    @thomasfranz6467

    2 жыл бұрын

    That is true, but basically the Nazis just copied all these symbols from before, and even if they were used outside of the Nazi time, they are often connotated with it. Also the Iron Cross and the German flag (the black-white-red one) are symbols from the Kaiserreich, however they are deeply connected with Nationalism in general and also with the Nazis. The Holy Roman Empire had very different flags, however, typically there was a two-headed eagle present, which is very rarely used today, so basically all eagles you see on flags today have nothing in common with the two-headed eagle from the HRE other than both being eagles.

  • @wasweiich2190

    @wasweiich2190

    2 жыл бұрын

    I just realized how insane it is to read all this comments every day...how? get my energy montana

  • @vesnavukasinovic1247

    @vesnavukasinovic1247

    2 жыл бұрын

    Germans were national socialists, not nazis

  • @olivermath5275
    @olivermath52752 жыл бұрын

    😊👍 nice Video

  • @karthikkamathp
    @karthikkamathp2 жыл бұрын

    How is history taught in the US? Does it start with the history of Native Americans who lived there or from Columbus and Mayflower's arrival? Also, how is the dropping of atomic bombs discussed? Any mentions of the hibakusha? Similarly, are you taught about the Vietnam war, use of Agent Orange in your history classes? I like how the history is taught in Germany, no attempts to whitewash the atrocities committed. Is it the same in the US?

  • @Wuppser

    @Wuppser

    2 жыл бұрын

    In einem Land wo noch massig Statuen von Südstaaten Generälen stehen? Die meisten US-Amerikaner denken auch in Deutschland stehen noch Hitler Statuen rum.

  • @MrTohawk

    @MrTohawk

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Wuppser Noch? Selbst damals gab es nahezu keine Statuen. Zumindest von speziellen Personen. "Heroische" nackte Männer schon eher.

  • @imrehundertwasser7094

    @imrehundertwasser7094

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Wuppser Es gab in Nazi-Deutschland _keine_ Hitler-Statuen, weil Hitler das nicht wollte. Was es gab, waren Hitler-Straßen, Hitler-Eichen usw.

  • @florianmeier3186

    @florianmeier3186

    2 жыл бұрын

    You are a bit offensive aren't you? As if German history class would start with all the ugly stuff. Actually we started with pre-historic life and Roman and Greek empire. The really though issues came rather late (9th-10th grade and after and I think it is rather OK).

  • @rookmaster7502

    @rookmaster7502

    2 жыл бұрын

    In the US, how these topics are taught depends very much on the school and the teacher! For example, I had a history teacher in high school who invited a special guest to participate in class discussion - the pilot involved in the atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki. But other schools barely discuss WW2 at all.

  • @Mis7erSeven
    @Mis7erSeven2 жыл бұрын

    "Who doesn't learn from the mistakes of the past is doomed to repeat them."

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @susi131
    @susi1312 жыл бұрын

    The thing about talking about WW2 in Germany is that everybody (or most people) are very open about talking about the history of our country. What most people do not or rarely talk about or even know is what part their family played in WW2 because this is something we don't talk about in families. My grandma for example always shared a story about how her dad came back from Russian war captivity on Christmas Eve and how happy she was because they thought they would never see him again. And of course this is a happy memory for her and it always made me super emotional hearing that story. And just in the past years I realized that him being kept in captivity in Russia means that he was in fact part of the Nazi regime. We all think that of course our family was in opposition (in German we say: im Widerstand) but the truth is that almost all of us do have family members who cooperated with the NS. Therefore recently the term "Deutsche mit Nazihintergrund" (Germany with Nazi background) started to be used in leftist bubbles as an analog to "Deutsche mit Migrationshintergrund" (Germans with migration background) because this very personal part of the history we still lack talking about. Also most of the big German companies and therefore most of the super rich in Germany have earned a huge part of their wealth during and because of the NS regime (that money is also referred to as "Nazierbe" (Nazi heritage). We also do still have a lot of expressions in Germany that are still widely used but actually date back to the Nazi time or have been abused by the Nazis. One for example being "Jedem das Seine" (echt to their own). These word have been displayed at the entrance at the concentration camp in Buchenwald. First of all many people don't even know about this or simply don't want to take the effort to change the way they are used to speaking. So you still hear this expression being said a lot. But when you pointing something like this out in the broader public in Germany people around you get very defensive because we all want to stay in our happy little bubble where we can talk about the horrors of what Germany did in the past from a distance. But hardly anyone is ready to admit that their beloved (and by now often deceased) family members were part of a system that killed so many people or even actively killed people themselves. Or that the wealth they posses today has been accumulated with the help of the NS regime. Or even worse that by using a well known saying they reproduce Nazi ideology. (Sorry for that long remark but I wanted to add that it's not all being handled ideally here in Germany even though it often seems like it in regards to WW2.)

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @hannahj8099
    @hannahj80992 жыл бұрын

    Germany is my favourite country I have visited! I’m from the UK and we were not taught about our horrific history (which is a lot!) and that makes me sad that it took going to university and being pointed into the right direction to do my own research.

  • @fluffymarshmellow2881

    @fluffymarshmellow2881

    2 жыл бұрын

    Awww thanks for appreciating our country!

  • @hannahj8099

    @hannahj8099

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@fluffymarshmellow2881 it must be so frustrating that people are still so prejudiced when German isn’t synonymous with Nazi, I think people don’t understand that it wasn’t the whole country! I love your country 💙 especially the little villages near ski resorts that are incredibly friendly and beautiful! My best friend and I also went to Berlin a couple of years ago and didn’t want to leave 😊 hopefully you’ll get to come to the UK soon, highly recommend the Peak District in Yorkshire (it’s beautiful) and has lots of little villages around it, and the Lake District in Cumbria which is similar but with mountains 💙

  • @sabaton4420

    @sabaton4420

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@hannahj8099 Of course, it is not the Germans who are responsible for the Second World War and the mass genocide, we all know that they were mythical Nazis, no one knows how they won the democratic elections in Germany, but they are not the Germans. Nobody knows the origin of the Nazis, but there are suspicions that they parachuted from the moon and began to terrorize the peaceful German nation, which no longer had blood on their hands.

  • @fluffymarshmellow2881

    @fluffymarshmellow2881

    2 жыл бұрын

    @sam's club ??? Barely any of those who have blood on their hands are still alive so I don't get what you are referring to. What does it have to do with America and Russia though.

  • @fluffymarshmellow2881

    @fluffymarshmellow2881

    2 жыл бұрын

    @sam's club eh??! Wow you are pretty racist🙄

  • @baldrick3888
    @baldrick38882 жыл бұрын

    Hi Montana, I´m glad that you talked about this! I was surprised when another American youtuber, Hi from Hamburg/lamblike mentioned several times that the people she met in Germany didn´t want to talk about WWII-related topics. As a German the Germans I know would talk about it willingly and being very interested in it. In German TV there is no other historical topic with as many documentarys. When I studied history no classes/seminars were more crowded then those about WWII/Nazis. I think if you are a little sensitiv when addressing this topic (like not when everybody is joking at a party) most people will talk seriously about it with you. Talk about it so it will never happen again!

  • @andyvandyne8499

    @andyvandyne8499

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's always easy to talk about someone else's guilt. Let's talk about the incredible racism in the US. You don't find such racism in all of Europe. America likes to talk about Nazis. It suppresses its own crimes. Vietnam, Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iraq and Donald Trump (Smile). Come on America, let's talk about it!

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @sandrar.2570
    @sandrar.25702 жыл бұрын

    Great Video :) actually for me ist wasn‘t that we started talking about WW2 in highschool, but we continously spoke about it starting in 6th grade all the way to 12th 🤷🏼‍♀️ i also feel that it‘s not really a taboo, it‘s more that it can be annoying to still be met with so many prejeduces from people with no clue of history at all, although it happened sooo Long ago 😅

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @Chneemann
    @Chneemann2 жыл бұрын

    Preamble: I'm German, age 40 and interested in history - the whole text is my own opinion. This is truly a complicate topic! In my experience the Germans talk about WW2 but they don't really know about it. For sure every German knows Hitler and also knows that there were a lot of war crimes by the German at this time. But in my opinion that's all for most of the Germans. In history classes in school the teacher often feels very uncomfortable. In my own time at school I was teached about the romans for three times but in modern time the history lesson ended at 1800. Everything after that (the federation of many little German areas to one German state, over WW1+2 until now) was missed out. Everything I learned about WW1 and WW2 was in self-study when I was older. The fact that WW2 will come was already known at the end of WW1, because the treaty of peace was more a truce of time. Declaring the German Reich had the total guilt of the WW1 and unrealistic reparations to be payed is was clearly the end of the existing German government. And that's the only reason why the Nazi-party NSDAP could rise. Coming up to WW2 it's important to say that not every Wehrmacht soldier was a Nazi. Most have been recruited to war without any option. They fought for their country because superior authority forced them. Of course there happened a lot of war crimes at this time. Not only deportation and murder of the jewish but also mass murder on civilians as revenge for dead German soldiers due to partisan / guerrilla attacks. But mostly these war crimes were committed by SS (Schutzstaffel) and SA (Sturmabteilung) - The real Nazis. The war is over for more than 76 years. In my opinion it's important to keep the crime in mind, but only a very few of these who fought and suffer in these time are still alive. It's very important never to forget but the young Germans aren't guilty for things that happened nearly 80 years ago. In Germany it's still not common to be proud of our country or raise our flag in public (apart of football worldcup) (and our flag ist not the same as during 3rd reich). And this is something I doesn't understand, because what we achieved between 1945 and today is a thing we could be proud of! From zero to a country I'm glad to live in. And I hope todays Germany keeps stable despite groups like the AFD or "Querdenker"

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @stecknadelfm5734
    @stecknadelfm57342 жыл бұрын

    That topic was a big part in our 7th grade history class. I believe we watched the movie "Schindlers List" two times in school and as a 12-13 year old (now I'm 22) it was a pretty impactfull watch. It is so sad that there are still people around that support that horrible stuff that happened back then. Thanks Montana for talking about such a important topic👍🏻

  • @MemesFromBrazil
    @MemesFromBrazil2 жыл бұрын

    Haven't seen this yet but this will be interesting

  • @azulpaulina9434
    @azulpaulina94342 жыл бұрын

    It's so super important to learn about these things, especially living in Germany. To unterstand how this happens and why Hitler become the person he was. Because in times of crisis like low with the pandemic, bad things from the past tend to happen again. Like people being insecure and very vulnerable due to an economic crisis and blaming others creating this mass hate leading to terror and death.

  • @harmbooij8241
    @harmbooij82412 жыл бұрын

    You just know when you've stayed in the south of Germany when Bad Laasphe is a place in the north :P

  • @ericderami

    @ericderami

    2 жыл бұрын

    thanks for commenting on that....I did not know how to spell it! LOL i wanted to look it up because I am in Hannover and wondered where it was....it's a couple hours south hahaha

  • @AlexJones-ue1ll

    @AlexJones-ue1ll

    2 жыл бұрын

    I actually feel sorry for anyone forced to live in Wittgenstein. Great hills and woods but ugh, the weather is even worse than in Netphen!

  • @Gaindalf93

    @Gaindalf93

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ericderami niedersachsen gang

  • @Duconi

    @Duconi

    2 жыл бұрын

    Whaaaat, it's not even in the northern half of Germany. Why did she say it's in the north of Germany? Wtf.

  • @mikeYO95
    @mikeYO952 жыл бұрын

    Super, dass du auch ernstere Themen ansprichst. Respekt an dieser Stelle!

  • @PalmyraSchwarz
    @PalmyraSchwarz2 жыл бұрын

    Hi Montana, I find it very pleasant that you approach supposedly taboo topics with great openness. WWII was a while ago, but it also left traces in many German families that still have an impact today. For example, my father experienced the war as a little boy, nights in an air raid shelter, evacuation and hunger. Historically formative events always have an impact on subsequent generations, simply because you know contemporary witnesses personally.

  • @StareyeODL
    @StareyeODL2 жыл бұрын

    In short, i think we are very open to this topic, but we dont like to get reduced as people, associated to the Nzs. or if we have to talk about it every time. In school we learn a lot about it, and sometimes it is a little overdosed, what creates resistance in some people if talked about this topic.

  • @stefanwiechmann4808
    @stefanwiechmann48082 жыл бұрын

    If you want to wear some clothes with a german sign, then wear a shirt of the german football team. That is accepted very well here in germany. We also wear it during the European Championship (Europameisterschaft) or the World Championship (Weltmeisterschaft). And in this time, it is ok for us to show some flags.. And for me, as a german, I am proud of the country how it is today. Yes there are some problems, like in any other country, but overall, I am happy to be a german and a european at the same time 🤗

  • @cherryfairyy
    @cherryfairyy Жыл бұрын

    This video was very important! We have to talk about history or else it will repeat itself. We have to understand how these things happened. Also I agree completely it's weird how much we participate in nationalism in the USA and how it's considered almost like you hate the country if you're not a nationalist. A lot of our nationalist things and things that involve pride in our past celebrate slavery, racism, colonialism, bombing countries with brown people to make money, exploiting poor ppls labor and labor rights abuses/forced labor. But no one is allowed to talk about that here in US without being called a hater and told to get out of the US. We can love something without blindly loving it and ignoring it's mistakes, if we love a place we should hate it's mistakes and want it to improve always.

  • @user-ze4vl9cy3r
    @user-ze4vl9cy3r10 ай бұрын

    It was the middle of the winter and I was already terribly ill then.

  • @JustMeAPotatoe
    @JustMeAPotatoe2 жыл бұрын

    The only time you can see german people wearing or waving their flag proudly is during sport games especially soccer. And also idk if it's only my school but my teacher also stressed out that if we don't learn how all that Nazi stuff even happened and what the consequences are that there could be a possibility that it repeats. And also that it could happen very easily again.

  • @JustMeAPotatoe

    @JustMeAPotatoe

    2 жыл бұрын

    @sam's club Fun fact: Hitler storming in a official political speech withing a beer cellar in Munich Trumps follower storming the white house because Trump encouraged them Also Russia was controlling ddr back than. Was it good? No. Where they exploited in the beginning and than caged within walls, with not the best education, having neighbors who are spys for the people up there, bad industry etc.?Yes Dude every country has shitty history in some way may it be slavery, killing countless people etc. But if you would nuke Germany right now you wouldn't just nuke one of the country's wich sells the most cars, one of the main wallet of Europe and also all the progress they made during the dark times. I may not be native German but I was raised in Germany wich makes me very angry for that Germany. If you did it as a joke plz delete it since such sensitive topics shouldn't be made jokes of. It's such a sensitive subject that even related stuff gets consificated and bring you into prison if you can't prove its for educating people to learn from germanys past mistakes.

  • @Julie-db8eq
    @Julie-db8eq2 жыл бұрын

    Hi, Im a german girl and I think it's so f*cking important to talk about the war. It's not that we feel guilty today, we cant change it, it's the past, but we know how important it is and we want it never again. It's awful and we all, the whole world, have to understand what happend there. As a german it's a bit hard to be pride of your own country. After the war the whole world told us we have to be ashamed of it. And yeah the holocaust wasnt good, ofc it was not. But it's so hard for a country to take all this blame and to feel so guilty about what the Nazis did. The germans couldn’t stand up to the Nazis on their own. They needed help and they got it. They paid a heavy price. Dignity, honor and pride. To this day

  • @Julie-db8eq

    @Julie-db8eq

    2 жыл бұрын

    @Alejandro Brunner yeah, it's very difficult. I mean I love my country our democracy, our freedom, our possibilitys but pride is a difficult subject. If you are too pride in this country, there will be always somebody who calls you a Nazi.

  • @hanszimmer9224

    @hanszimmer9224

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Julie-db8eq I think the pride issue is more a northern german habit.

  • @Julie-db8eq

    @Julie-db8eq

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@hanszimmer9224 What do you mean? The problem with the pride or to be pride

  • @hanszimmer9224

    @hanszimmer9224

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Julie-db8eq Overall, I have the feeling northern germans take everything very seriously. Hence they're over considering and thus hesitating to be proud of their country. In the south, everyone is more laid back and don't take things so seriously. So it's a normal thing to be proud and make jokes about the war and stuff

  • @Julie-db8eq

    @Julie-db8eq

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@hanszimmer9224 mmmh idk how it is in the South. I think it's a pretty difficult subject.

  • @robertchoate5380
    @robertchoate53802 жыл бұрын

    Living in California, I was introduced to topics about the Holocaust in my Language arts(English) classes in middle school. 5th grade social studies(history) was more about the founding of the United States, 6th grade S.S.(history) was learning about the first civilizations and the origins of humans, 7th grade was world history like the Renaissance, some Japanese history, and 8th grade went more in depth about the U.S. government. The point where we went into the Holocaust and WWII was my junior year in High School. My sophomore year, we actually did a simulation of WWI. Every class had different outcomes, and I believe my class was how it actually played out. There was even one class that they did not even go to war at all.

  • @robertchoate5380

    @robertchoate5380

    2 жыл бұрын

    I do not know if this went for the whole state, I live in SoCal. It might vary from district to district.

  • @robertchoate5380

    @robertchoate5380

    2 жыл бұрын

    Während meines dritten Jahres von Highschool haben wir Aufgaben über die Nazis in meinem deutschen Kurs gemacht. Wir mussten ein Video ansehen und Artikel lesen, und paar Fragen daran beantworten(auf jeden Fall war alles auf Deutsch). Wir haben auch über die DDR gelernt. Das war nur für ein paar Wochen wegen der Änderung des Curriculums.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @BlueSky-ub4fx
    @BlueSky-ub4fx2 жыл бұрын

    Hi,Montana! What a coincidence, i just drove by Schloss Hartheim while watching your video 😯

  • @stefanw7406
    @stefanw74062 жыл бұрын

    Wie ich gehört habe kommt es in den USA darauf an in welchem Staat man ist. Im Norden wird über CW gesprochen und im Süden nicht. Wie war das bei dir? Was hast du über den Civil War gelernt. Und wird bei euch über die Hintergründe von Thanksgiving gesprochen?

  • @juttalio1664
    @juttalio16642 жыл бұрын

    When it comes to flags we tend more to show the flags of the cities or states (Bundesländer) we live in.

  • @florianmeier3186

    @florianmeier3186

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly there is the German word "Lokalpatriotismus". You should not assume Germans are less nationalistic or patriotic than others. They just show it in a bit different way.

  • @topsyturvyy4558
    @topsyturvyy4558 Жыл бұрын

    Germans not only talk about WW2, they are more knowledgeable than most Americans that don't even know what years it took place, who fought it, etc.

  • @jannesfriedrichs1563
    @jannesfriedrichs15632 жыл бұрын

    When I was in middleschool in NewJersey we learned about the US civil war and the turn of the century as well as the immigration via Ellis Island! Verry interesting... We did not learn much on WWII.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @Force-Majeure
    @Force-Majeure2 жыл бұрын

    It depends according to my experience. My mother was born 1939 and WWII was a no go in school curriculum in the first years after 1945 according to her. She does not want to talk about it despite not having own memories from time, films and documentations about WWII makes her change the TV program on a regular bases. German history, especially the time after 1815, the Wiener Kongress, 1848, 1871 WWI, Weimarer Republik, the rise of Facism leading to the "Tausendjähriges Reich; Holocaust and WWII) and post WWII Germany/Eastern Germany are topics of History in school classes on a regular bases. You should know your country´s history because you can reflect on it to avoid making mistakes from the past.

  • @robincraft4682

    @robincraft4682

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think it's a generational thing. My mother was born in 1942 and like yours there was no discussion about the war at home with her family or at school. To this day she will not talk about WWII or watch any movies, documentaries or other related material. I believe as time passes, younger people are more inclined to have these discussions because it is important.

  • @Lukas-xb7cx

    @Lukas-xb7cx

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@robincraft4682 Directly after the war a lot of people in influential positions in institutions like millitary, police, big corporations, the CDU or even NATO still where former Nazis, partly even fairly high ranking ones. The Nuremberg trials only punished the very first line of the NSDAP elite. But everyone who was just a bit lower in the hierarchy stayed. A lot of Nazi scientists, generals and agents where also recruited by the US after the war to give them an edge over the soviets. The real confrontation with the Nazi history and de-nazification didn't take place till the student protests of 1969

  • @Lukas-xb7cx

    @Lukas-xb7cx

    2 жыл бұрын

    Or actually I think it was 68

  • @CHarlotte-ro4yi

    @CHarlotte-ro4yi

    2 жыл бұрын

    On the contrary my grandparents were born in 1925 and 1929, hence both of them had and have very vivid memories of WWII and Nazi Germany, my grandfather was even forced to fight in the Wehrmacht. It was and is of utterly importance for them to talk about their experiences and the horrors of war and the Holocaust which they didn’t realise in its full extent until after the war. My grandfather even left us with his memories written down, it brings me to tears every time I read it. The most important message from both of them is that it’s our generations duty to make sure something like this will never happen again.

  • @Lukas-xb7cx

    @Lukas-xb7cx

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@CHarlotte-ro4yi If you want to understand how it was to experience the horrors of WW2, I recommend watching the 1985 movie "come and see" by soviet director Elem Klimov. It's the most realistic, most clear depiction of what war is like for ordinary people that ever existed. It follows the story of a 15 year old boy that wants to join the partisans in Nazi occupied Belarus in 1943. The director himself experienced the siege of Stalingrad as a kid and his co-director was a partisan in Belarus as a teenager. The movie is mostly based on his experiences. When it was first shown in Germany one woman got up from her seat and declared "I must declare that everything that you see in this movie is true and really happened. I was in the Wehrmacht, I was there and took part in it and more tho I'm ashamed that my children and grandchildren will see this movie and know what I did". You can currently watch it in russian with English subtitles for free on KZread. Belarusfilm made it available on their KZread channel because of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Victory over the Nazis. I really recommend watching it. It's really good and it gives you perspective. But beware, it's really heavy. It's not comparable to Hollywood movies in any way kzread.info/dash/bejne/gH6Nscltf7XJYdo.html

  • @backpfeifengesicht8415
    @backpfeifengesicht84152 жыл бұрын

    My first memory of my grandma is her and me sitting on her couch while she's telling me about fleeing from the bombs every night, trying to get in the bunker in time.

  • @j.b.5422
    @j.b.5422 Жыл бұрын

    when AREN'T we talking about it?

  • @MBCDC1
    @MBCDC12 жыл бұрын

    The purpose of learning our history should be to preserve the beneficial aspects of human evolution and to avoid the mistakes of the past in the future!

  • @normanwong4967
    @normanwong49672 жыл бұрын

    only in school.

  • @robertzander9723
    @robertzander97232 жыл бұрын

    It's important to talk about your past, about the history, especially about the bad things that happened, it's the only way to learn something about it and improve yourself. If you talk about it in a serious and honest way, there is nothing wrong about it. Until the end of sixties it was almost a taboo to talk about these things and the change was a long process and was forced by the younger generations. Something horrible like that should not happen again and one of the best opportunities to not let that happen again is to talk about it and show the people. Movies like Schindler's list, Die weiße Rose, The Pianist, The boot or Stalingrad are a good movies and opportunity to go into the topic and experience can be to visit a concentration camp. My question is the way to US handle's all the war topics in their schools. Not only WW2, but also Vietnam, Laos, Kambodscha, Korea and a lot of other so called military conflicts that happened. I'm not so sure how honest the US education is about it??

  • @robertzander9723

    @robertzander9723

    2 жыл бұрын

    @TriXtreme ist echt schön das sie das Denken, nur mit der Realität hat das leider nicht soviel zu tun. Die Wahlergebnisse in vielen östlichen Bundesländern, aber auch einigen westlichen Bundesländern im Zuge der AFD zeichnen für mich ein anderes Bild ab, in vielen anderen europäischen Ländern haben rechtspopulistische bis rechtsextreme Parteien durchaus wieder einen Zulauf. Das wird dann christlich- konservativ verkauft ist aber beweitem mehr. Italien, Frankreich, aber auch Österreich, die Schweiz und Staaten wie Ungarn, Polen, Tschechien und die Ukraine beeinflussen das Geschehen in Europa genauso wie Deutschland. Zu glauben es würde nichts passieren, diesen Irrglauben sind nach dem ersten Weltkrieg viele Menschen erlegen. Vorallem jüdische Bürger die im ersten Weltkrieg noch für Deutschland gekämpft hatten und das Eiserne Kreuz erhielten, die hatten den Glauben das Hitler bloß eine kurze Ärger macht und dann wieder verschwinden würde. Der Irrglaube war fatal. Sicher ist überhaupt nichts. Darüber reden, die Menschen sensibilisieren und sie für Demokratie zu begeistern ist ein gutes Mittel um den Frieden zu erhalten. Alles ignorieren und überhaupt nicht mehr darüber sprechen würde den radikalen Kräften in die Hände spielen. In Ungarn sieht man das die Tage wieder ziemlich gut. Da wird der Opferkult wieder gefüttert, weil man sich nach dem verlorenen ersten Weltkrieg ungerecht behandelt fühlt. Eine Demokratie ist immer fragiles Gebilde und man muss sich jeden Tag darum kümmern.

  • @tasminoben686

    @tasminoben686

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@robertzander9723 Moin Robert, der Kommentar, auf den du antwortest wird mir nicht mehr angezeigt.. Demokratie ist etwas perfektes, dass wir immer nur annähern können, aber niemals in Serfektion erreichen werden. Ansonsten bin ich voll und ganz deiner Meinung. Besonders, was die USA angeht. Bedenkenswert finde ich aber auch noch, dass ich, Jahrgang 1955 zur ersten Generation gehören werde, die ihr ganzes Leben ohne Krieg im gesamten Leben leben werde. Jedenfalls, wenn man die letzten 2000 Jahre zurückgeht. Schöne Woche Ben

  • @kidgforce1

    @kidgforce1

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@robertzander9723 This is a strange point of view, because the east germans suffered from Stalinist dictatorship and recognise the signs; the real fascists today are the government, abolishing human rights and the Antifa, beating down people with different political views like the SA

  • @Sachertortehmmlecker
    @Sachertortehmmlecker2 жыл бұрын

    Certainly, we have (for example) lost many of our grandfathers and/or their brothers, young people that really don't want to fight, but they had no choice or they get executed. What a terrible time. Every one should know and talk about this history, so that this will never happen again. But it is better to look into the future

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @Nelly07
    @Nelly072 жыл бұрын

    You were relatively surprised that the topic WW2 and Holocaust is treated so late in history classes, basically this is due to the fact that history classes in Germany are structured chronologically. That is, we start in the 5th grade, after the change to secondary schools with the Stone Age, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, later Rome and so on. But that is also quite good, the 2nd World War is a heavy topic, which must be worked through with a lot of patience and caution. I had, as far as one can call it so, the luck to grow up in Weimar and live in a place not even 20 km away from the concentration camp Buchenwald. In school it was obligatory for us to have been to Buchenwald once in the 9th grade and to deal with the subject in more detail. Before that, we had already talked about the Holocaust in German class, since we had read both the diary of Anne Frank and the boy in striped pajamas. In Weimar itself, you can not get around the NAZI - heritage, the atrium with the Gauforum behind it is hard to miss, the Hotel Elefant, as one of Hitler's favorite hotels, is still one of the best hotels in Weimar.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @joshlyman7059
    @joshlyman70592 жыл бұрын

    I talked about this to a Canadian friend of mine, it was hard to explain to him that in continental Europe the view on ww2 is a bit different than in North America. To him ww2 was a tragedy occurring overseas and its most visceral scars worn over there for the past 70 years have been by veterans. But in Europe ww2 was daily life for years for most of our grandparents or great grandparents and its shadow loomed large over most in the decades after. It left much deeper scars and monuments to atrocities (not only fallen soldiers) still dot big cities, small towns and even villages alike. As a kid my grandfather talked about fighting in the woods, afraid every day, but My grandmother also told me about carrying hidden letters around afraid to be discovered my other grandmother once terrified me by telling me how back home her entire family was lined up and by soldiers but they were lucky enough to speak German, for years every time I drove out of town I drove past a statue remembering burning of a house with live civilians inside. Never again

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @torbenjohansen6955
    @torbenjohansen69552 жыл бұрын

    I think the great war (ww1) had a greater impact on the german US relations than WW2 Back then in 1917 before the US joined the war there where thousends of US citys with german names in the USA. and there where hundreds of german newspapers. in the USA. WW1 changed that. German newspapers closed or switched langauge and hundreds of citys changed names. ww2 cemented it even more.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @NotFreya
    @NotFreya2 жыл бұрын

    I have so far just seen the Titel and 𝕚 can say YES WE DO SPEAK ABOUT WW2 (in 10th or 11th grade in most schools)

  • @eckhardtburkle3178
    @eckhardtburkle31782 жыл бұрын

    Hallo Montana. Deine Videos sind wirklich sehr informativ. Ich finde es gut dass du dich für die Deutsche Kultur und Geschichte Interessierst. Ich kann dir den vierteiligen Film Blut und Ehre sehr empfehlen. Er erzählt die wahre Geschichte von Jugendlichen im dritten Reich. Hier bei Joutub. Liebe Grüße Eckhardt

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @alexb.6800
    @alexb.68002 жыл бұрын

    My tortured to death grandma’s family would be pleased to hear how great Germans are.

  • @dianestafford6968

    @dianestafford6968

    2 жыл бұрын

    My Maternal Grandmother was a Holocaust Survivor. She knew first hand that there were wondering, kind and caring Germans and others who were not. War either brings out the best or worst in people.

  • @j.m.w.5064

    @j.m.w.5064

    2 жыл бұрын

    Actually... yes. She would be pleased that three generations later people actually changed their ways. And no, I don't assume whithout any evidence to the contrary that this Lady would have been so stupid as to blame kids born eighty years after the fact. You are welcome.

  • @helenahlm
    @helenahlm2 жыл бұрын

    You all have to realize that some of our grandparents grew up during the war or in the postwar period. Because of that the younger generation also notes that it‘s not so far in the past. For example, I spray graffiti pretty well and sprayed a gas mask because it looked cool. My grandpa saw it and was sad. He told me that when he was a child, men came to every house and everyone from the family (including children) had to try on gas masks. Personally, I didn't even think about this context when I sprayed it and I felt quite sorry. As a German, you are FORCED to think it a lot about because it is still present. Even because many countries still have problems with Germans because of the war, although our generations today really can't help it at all and we find it as cruel and wrong as the rest of the world. If not even more.

  • @helenahlm

    @helenahlm

    2 жыл бұрын

    *to think about it a lot

  • @jasmin4505ify
    @jasmin4505ify2 жыл бұрын

    Hey Montana :), first of all, I really enjoy watching your videos. I actually found your channel by accident because you did some videos about Passau and I went to uni in Passau whilst you were there, too. It was kind of crazy that we were in the same little town at the same time. I loved seeing your perspective on Germany and Passau in particular. Regarding the topic of this video... I think it's so great that you're talking about this very important topic and especially the "national pride". To be honest, I really don't get why people are proud of their country because they didn't do anything to live there most of the times. I consider myself very lucky to be born in Germany because I think it's a beautiful, quite wealthy country and it is very safe. But I'm not proud if you know what I mean. I also think that, besides the German past, german culture is just very critical in general. I feel like Germans often like to complain about things that go wrong in the country and stuff that they don't like. Especially since Covid, whatever happens in the country or is decided by the government, there will be people to complain about it. It's just how we are, I guess. But maybe you had different experiences whilst your stay here. :) Greetings from Bavaria Jasmin

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @quiet2361
    @quiet23612 жыл бұрын

    We do talk about WWII a lot. Greetings from a German🤝

  • @KathrinH1997
    @KathrinH19972 жыл бұрын

    National Pride ist hier wirklich nur ein Ding während der WM und EM. wie du schon sagst, abgesehen davon sieht man davon kaum was aufgrund des stark ausgeprägten Nationalismus während der NS Zeit. Und den 2. Weltkrieg hatte ich, wenn ich mich richtig erinnere, das erste Mal in der 6. Klasse und über die Jahre bis in die 12. Klasse hat sich das Thema immer wieder wiederholt mit unterschiedlichen Schwerpunkten, um zu versuchen uns beizubringen, wie es zu all diesen Ereignissen kam. Ich hab durch meinen Vater allerdings schon früher und auch im Endeffekt mehr über den 2. Weltkrieg gelernt, da er mit mir als Kind schon gerne sogenannte Bunkertouren machte bei denen wir und den Atlantikwall und Museen dort anschauten. Hinzu kamen dann noch Dokumentation mit echtem Filmmaterial aus der Zeit, bei denen ich meinen Vater mit 12/13 um Erlaubnis fragte sie schauen zu dürfen, da sie offiziell erst ab 16 waren. Mein Uropa war in der SA und ist damals Märsche in unserer Heimatstadt mitgelaufen. Das wurde mir von meiner Oma mal erzählt, aber dann auch nicht weiter drüber geredet. Was ich damit sagen will: ich denke für Familien ist es neben dem was die Kinder in der Schule lernen sehr unterschiedlich, ob es besprochen wird oder nicht.

  • @seidi81

    @seidi81

    2 жыл бұрын

    Selbst die DDR hatte mehr Nationalstolz als diese BRD. Hier wird man klein gehalten und darf kein Nationalstolz mehr haben, sonst ist man gleich Nazi. Unsere Nation macht sich damit schwach und beliebig.

  • @smenor
    @smenor2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks this was great and it also highlights how bad the US is about talking about our own history

  • @Quaneje
    @Quaneje2 жыл бұрын

    Its a strange thing. Our grandparents fought each other but we, 2 generations removed, have inherited animosity

  • @FelixvonMontfort
    @FelixvonMontfort2 жыл бұрын

    My grandfather got shot in the head in WWII but survived. He came in a hospital near lake of constance, where my grandmother was a nurse. They got 10 kids and my Dad was the oldest, born in 1944.

  • @lottychan
    @lottychan2 жыл бұрын

    I can't really pin point when I (German, early 30s) got to learn about WW2 first. I remember that in elementary school we went to a historical museum and learned about it. In 5th/6th grade my teacher brought in an old man who experienced it first hand and was sent to a labour camp. We also read books like "Anne Franks diary" or "Damals war es Friedrich". Or we watched movies like "Das Leben is schön" (which I'd not recommend to 11 and 12 year olds! I was super shocked afterwards). All in all during my time in school we learned about the topic over and over again, even visiting a concentration camp in 10grade. In school it was definitly talked about a lot in all kinds of subjects. I always felt like the teachers made sure to somehow keep us aware. My grandparents themselves didn't speak a lot about it - but you have to take in account that they went through a lot of trauma (fleeing, friends disappearing or seing them being killed due to massive bombing, my great grandfather was sent to Theresienstadt for being a half-jew, family never coming back from war...) so I'm greatful for every little bit they mustered up the strengh to tell us. My grandfather most liked to dream about how his city looked like before the war...and how devestated he felt when things like in November 1938 the progrom nights started. His sister always told us that she would chop of limbs from her male relatives so that they wouldn't get send to war if this would ever repeat itself. I think we Germans are way more aware, maybe even more than any other country, about the cruel things that happened in the past. Sadly, and I feel that this is happening all over the world, extreme opinions and values, xenophobia etc are on the raise again. Thanks for your video and showing a bit awareness about these kind of things. I think all countries should have more awareness and open education about their wrongdoings of the past.

  • @imrehundertwasser7094
    @imrehundertwasser70942 жыл бұрын

    9:16 Re "nazi-esque fonts": I saw that poll, and the letters I saw were regular fractured letters (Fraktur) that have developed in Germany over centuries, long before the Nazis. To call them "nazi-esque" could not be further from the truth because the Nazis actually abolished the use of Fraktur (and similar fonts) in 1941 because they thought they were Jewish. They decreed that in the future, Antiqua fonts should be used, the same type of fonts as used by the US, UK, France and many other countries. Not a lot of people know this however, and so Fraktur fonts are often associated with the Nazis, which is ridiculous given the actual historical background.

  • @michielvoetberg4634

    @michielvoetberg4634

    2 жыл бұрын

    Agree. It's just a gothic font. It has existed for ages and isn't even specific to Germany

  • @peterdoe2617

    @peterdoe2617

    2 жыл бұрын

    That just follows the pattern of most ultra-right-wing organisations: they claim "ancient" things to be related to just: them. Once you understand that pattern, you'll easily find them out. "Midsommer" or "Walpurgisnacht" or Stonehenge have existed, long before the nazis. And will survive the idiots. It's just our task to pull 'em my the nose and tell them, what idiots they are.

  • @nomad66

    @nomad66

    2 жыл бұрын

    That is called the "Fraktur-Falle"....! Since a lot of Neo Nazis are using fonts that were actually abolished by the Nazis, namely Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann on the 1st of January 1941 by order of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt! They abolished as mentioned before the Fraktur-type and the Schwabacher and branded them as "Judenlettern". With this order they erased and stopped a nearly 900 year development of different scribes. Germany was the country with the widest forms of calligraphic scribes till then.

  • @j.m.w.5064

    @j.m.w.5064

    2 жыл бұрын

    But the meaning of symbols changes by actual use. Just like you won't get away with painting a swastica on a wall in Germany - claiming it was only the Buddhist variant - that still exists, but the connotation in Germany is different now. Context matters. So when you see a KZread Avatar spelling his name in Fraktur you can be sure that he is a more or less covered Nazi. No matter how nonsensical the origins are. And that's that. No, not when you look at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - the editorial staff is not bald wearing bomber jackets: context matters. (If we think about it, nothing about Neo-Nazis makes sense anyway...) Cheers!

  • @imrehundertwasser7094

    @imrehundertwasser7094

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@j.m.w.5064 You have a rather skewed world view.

  • @Claus5871
    @Claus58712 жыл бұрын

    Hello Montana, even though your channel is more on the humorous side I think the topic is chosen well right now as you grow smarter yourself. And experiemced that a country you met such a great host family can have a partially cruel history. Reflecting about why following a/any government might be bad could lead to understanding the circunstances better now as well as in the past which could lead to a more "free spirit" mindset?

  • @Kordanor
    @Kordanor2 жыл бұрын

    Was almost expecting "CuriosityStream" plugin when you talked about wanting to learn more about it. ^^ I think you need to also split stuff up a bit. While they are tied together, WW2 and the Holocaust are two things which are handled very differently. In school and documentary they are pretty much mixed together I guess, but the way they are handled in day to day life can be somewhat different. For example you are fine (to some degree) to make jokes about Hitler (search for Bullyparade & Hitler on youtube) and WW2 - while this will trigger some kind of a "uuuhhh" response, it is still be seen as acceptable in lots of circumstances. Jokes about the Holocaust on the other hand, are a definite no-go.

  • @lara_v_g_h
    @lara_v_g_h2 жыл бұрын

    We're not ashamed of WW2 because it's not our fault and not our opinion. We are not the people who did this and we try to do everything we can to keep history from repeating itself

  • @pioneernut7487

    @pioneernut7487

    2 жыл бұрын

    Today generation of germans shouldnt be ashamed of war. You didnt take part So its not your fault. Cheers

  • @tizian3005
    @tizian30052 жыл бұрын

    When I was at school I think we talked about WWII almost every year

  • @chrissywegner
    @chrissywegner2 жыл бұрын

    i can remember like it was yesterday... When i was in Hauptschule we did a day trip to the concentration camp Buchenwald. We where a bunch of young guys normally doing a lot of funny stuff and laughing a lot. But the moment we entered the cremation Houses Basement afte we have seen the Pictures of Bodies laying on top of each other in this rooms was just such a sad and depressing thing. All of us stayed completely quiot the entire time as we walked around in these rooms. Just standing there, remembering what this place once was gave me goosebumps in the most uncomfortable way i could imagine. I think it is very important to learn everything and talk about it so that something like this will never happen again. Im really thankful, that i can still visit places like this. Maybe you will get the chance to visit such a plase aswell, even it is not the most joyfull thing to do... Lets focus on the happy things in life. I really enjoyed this video. I hope that you will have a great time here. :-)

  • @burgitech8643
    @burgitech86432 жыл бұрын

    From the young men born around 1920 not even half survived the war. Nearly all major cities were literally bombed to dust. I think for other western countries that is just not imaginable (Compare the numbers of UK or US...). The Thirty Years war was even worse though.

  • @teckyify
    @teckyify2 жыл бұрын

    I think in Germany everyone is at some point exhausted about the extent of Nazi history that is shoved down your throat throughout the entire time in school. Everything is discussed to death and nothing is left to say 😂 documentaries are all the time on TV, movies are released continually about Nazis, museums have related themes all the time in their program, not even to speak about the literature, etc. It is everywhere. I think at some point everyone shuts down 😂

  • @KJ-md2wj

    @KJ-md2wj

    2 жыл бұрын

    True. Even the French have stopped talking for ever about their Résistance and the Brits about the war (well most of them).

  • @DerJoJoKanal
    @DerJoJoKanal2 жыл бұрын

    Germany looks at good and bad parts in history. Other than the US which sometimes is all about patriotism

  • @michaelgoetze2103

    @michaelgoetze2103

    2 жыл бұрын

    To feel good about the good things Germany does, does not mean you have to talk another country down.

  • @tillm2481

    @tillm2481

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@michaelgoetze2103 that is exactly the problem in the USA...talking about crimes, failures in history is not putting the country down.. it is all about learning...making not the same mistakes again...Trump and the Republican Party as it is in the moment (e.g. Marjory Green, Ted Cruz, etc. etc. ) would have been impossible if there was real education in US schools...even Republicans like Adam Kinzinger will agree.

  • @dzejms88
    @dzejms882 жыл бұрын

    Can you make a video about if Americans talk about slavery and annihilation of Native Americans? Would be interesting to hear how are you dealing with your troublesome past as a nation and what people's approaches are. Is it uncomfortable subject for people and what you learn at school about that.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @crabtrap

    @crabtrap

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany was an established civilixed country at the rise of hitler. US in the the times you elude to was mostly wild frontier. Indians werent being direct mass executed in Philidelphia for instance. Trail of tears was horrible but also literally in middle of wild frontier. There is a differance. Germans knew of the concintration camps and starving and incinterations happening. But yes they taught us all of our US history good/bad

  • @UAuaUAuaUA
    @UAuaUAuaUA2 жыл бұрын

    I think you did cover hat subject very well considering your rather short time in Germany. You have to be aware that people have an “inside the family” version of those events, and a rather nice version that is told to outsiders. My Bavarian relatives from Munich would joke the they are a “well-balanced family” (ausgeglichene Familie) because the father fought against the Americans in France and Germany in 1944 to 1945, and the son against the Russians in 1945. And both of them actually killed soldiers on the battlefield. They would most likely not tell that to an American or Russian exchange students. Also, that father had his wife nearly killed and lost all his property during an US Air Force bomb attack on Munich in 1944. This motivated him to fight as long as possible and kill as many Americans as possible during the last year of the war. He actually only capitulated on the last day of the war.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @Groffili
    @Groffili2 жыл бұрын

    I read the comment by 77dreimaldie0 "Before watching, let me correct the title: Do Germans ever not talk about WWII?" and just had to nitpick a bit about the title of this video. No, Germans do not talk about World War II. At least, not usually, not casually. You won't find the situations where you enter the bakery and it is: "Good morning. - Morning! - WW2 was really bad, wasn't it? - Yeah, horrible. The whole Nazi thing. Really tragic. Same as always: two bread rolls and a full grain rye bread?" But, yes, Germans DO talk about WW2, even a lot, in their educational and social system. Because even as it grows more and more distant, and the direct memory vanes, it still remains a major factor in modern German history and society. Especially now that the direct memory disappears, it is important to keep it relevant. Because it is. It isn't one of the generic ups-and-downs of a nations's history... it is a stain (and not the only one) on human history in general. It is important to learn and understand that it happened, how it happened... and that it was done BY PEOPLE JUST LIKE US. We Germans - even those of us who don't have any direct connection to that time anymore - have this special responsibility of keeping the memory alive. It should be a task for all humans - and it should not be taught in the categories of "us" vs. "them".

  • @77dreimaldie0
    @77dreimaldie02 жыл бұрын

    Before watching, let me correct the title: Do Germans ever not talk about WWII?

  • @peterdoe2617
    @peterdoe26172 жыл бұрын

    I enjoyed it very much! I'm german. Born 1960. Just had a conversation about war. Wanting to send a mail to my "to-be-daughter" about music of old. Iron Butterfly. And how their music was so popular. And that her granddad should remember them. But I asked my fiancé beforehand. And, nope: he does not like to talk about this time in his life. He served in Nam. Like my brother-in-law served in Iraq. Never talks about it. Ever. Under constant medication. Never will be able to work a job, ever again. I myself, served in the army in 1983. Never had to fight. So thankful for that! The resulting traumata will never heal for many. It is a sensitive topic to talk about. But an urgent one, too: There are still wars, raging on, today. Learning about WW1 and WW2 can educate us, in understanding how to think about it. Greetings from the far north of Germany!

  • @target9972
    @target99722 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Montana. You really have a great power of observation. As a somewhat older teacher from 1948, I can say that sometimes I have the impression that the Germans harbor a certain secret sympathy for certain characteristics of Nazi Germany. For example, documentaries have been shown on TV for hours and on several channels at prime time for many years. Most of them take a critical view of the Hitler era. But there is no gain in knowledge. The reception at school has frozen and celebrates more of the secret pride. Unfortunately, the students' interest is waning. However, the total time is part of the fixed curriculum in all federal states from grade 9.

  • @jarlnils435

    @jarlnils435

    2 жыл бұрын

    It is not a pride. It is more like they don't want to have the children know what happened during the war. When I was in 10th grade (I'm german in Germany), we had the topic of the nazi regime and the war. Well, we had a bit about the war. My teacher almost entirely spoke about the horror of the Holocaust. Yes that is horrible. But every single time, she spoke about the fighting, she only spoke about the fear that the soldiers had. And when I added only a bit of brutality, she changed the topic. She did not speak of bombings, she did not speak about other groups other than the jews, that were taken away and killed. But we have to know about the brutality. Without knowing what will happen to us, if we go to war, we will more likely go to war again. The documentations are the same. Speaking of the war but avoiding what really happened. I'm glad that my family told me much about it. About the horrors that they had witnessed or the fates of relatives.

  • @target9972

    @target9972

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jarlnils435 Na ja, das ist die Frage. Die Schule hat nicht die Aufgabe, den Horror des Nazi-Krieges und Holocausts zu vermitteln. Die Fakten ja, aber nicht so, dass die Schüler Traumata davontragen. Und das ist auch gut so, oder? Jedenfalls gibt es da nicht die eine, für alle gültige Antwort drauf.

  • @jarlnils435

    @jarlnils435

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@target9972 als ob ein 10. Klässler von einem Bericht über die Schrecken des Krieges traumatisiert wird. Ich kenne einige, die Im Westen nichts Neues in der 9. Klasse lesen sollten. Hab ich auch, aber außerhalb der Schule. Das vermittelt sehr gut, was Krieg ist. Und es sorgt dafür, das man es nicht will. Und das ist wichtig. Auch auf Kosten einer verlorenen "Unschuld" im Sinne das man Krieg nicht mehr als Heroisch sieht. Krieg ist furchtbar, aber wenn dieser Horror nicht vermittelt wird, wird die Bereitschaft einen Krieg anzufangen in der Masse zunehmen. Im Ernstfall sind Männer ab 16 Jahre potentielle Rekruten. Also sollte man es auch Schülern in dem Alter zumuten, Geschichten über Horror zu hören oder zu lesen. Andererseits kann man auch die Jugend in Watte packen und die Augen vor der Realität verschließen. Diese Mentalität hat ja leider in den letzten 10 Jahren stark zugenommen. Meine Familie hat großen Wert darauf gelegt, dass mein Bruder und ich über die Zerstörung und die Verluste des Krieges lernten. Damit wir keinen Krieg wollen. Allerdings bin ich trotz allem Bereit, wenn meine Familie durch Krieg bedroht wird, zu Kämpfen. Aber niemals um ein fremdes Land anzugreifen.

  • @target9972

    @target9972

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jarlnils435 agree, but: Wie kam es zu Kriegen, welche Interessen, welche Kräfte?! Aktuell sind wir alle Zeugen eines realen Krieges vor unsere Haustür, den wir während der Entfaltung studieren können. So kann man seine Überzeugungen und Erkenntnisse, seine Glaubenssätze "am offenen Herzen" studieren, analysieren ...

  • @target9972

    @target9972

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jarlnils435 Unsere Geschichtsbücher werden gerade umgeschrieben, so haben die Schüler ab sofort einen Krieg direkt vor ihren Augen und müssen nicht mehr 80 Jahre zurückschauen und darauf vertrauen, dass stimmt, was ihnen die Alten vorsetzen.

  • @helloweener2007
    @helloweener20072 жыл бұрын

    World War II is as nearly as far away as the year 2100. 82 years since start of WW II, 76 years to the end of WW II. 79 years to the year 2100. For me both is far away. I was born over 30 years after the end of the war and I will never see the year 2100. It is important not to forget and learn from this mistakes but it is also important to realise that the generation before and after me are not guilty.

  • @Miximixos
    @Miximixos2 жыл бұрын

    The separation of Germany into two parts reminded my generation until 1989 that a war was lost!

  • @D0MiN0ChAn

    @D0MiN0ChAn

    2 жыл бұрын

    I'm so glad to have been born into a unified Germany :) Couldn't even imagine Germany being divided (any more than it still is mentality-wise sometimes). My parents' and grandparents stories about the DDR were quite something. To think that families were torn apart in the blink of an eye, only to see each other again some 30 years later, or the several escape attempts of some brave souls. I can't even imagine what a time this must've been 😔

  • @blackrockz5807
    @blackrockz5807 Жыл бұрын

    My former boss is a german, he doesnt like talking about wars, but he said one thing..he likes peace and doesnt like violence and i believed it cuz my boss is calm af, his voice tone didnt change even if hes so damn mad already..😂😂 and i admire him for being so calm,composed and well mannered in the middle of 3 troublesome people😂.. sometimes when im looking at him while he is talking about work related stuff i dont actually listen to that, im actually waiting for him to explode but he doesnt😂i can say he is the MOST PATIENT AND CALM PERSON IVE MET ON EARTH.

  • @juergenh.4270
    @juergenh.42702 жыл бұрын

    As long as anybody says, the history books about this time (WW I+II and especially National Sozialism in Germany) should be closed, every pupil and every student in the world should be taught about as much as possible, because, if the conditions are corresponding to a special political and social situation for the majority of this people, this could happen again, everywhere and everywhen

  • @Never_again_against_anyone
    @Never_again_against_anyone2 жыл бұрын

    About it being "so much later in school": That's because history classes in German school are chronological starting with the stone age and approaching present from there. About visiting documentation centers: If you are no stone emotionally, it is bound to be a hard experience, no matter how many of the facts you knew before. I am in my mid20s now and still remember the feeling to this day (visit in 11th grade). There was a teacher who used to accompany this trip for some years before. When we talked about the experience and our thoughts right after it in groups, she told us that she found the imoressions emotionally harder to bear with every visit and that there would propably only very few after that until she would no longer be able to bear it. About the German relation to flags: That's very much shaped by our darkest chapter of history. It has been relaxing somewhat in respect to sports to show pride in national teams since the soccer world cup 2006, but waving flags without any connection to sports is still far from normal.

  • @MontanaShowalter

    @MontanaShowalter

    2 жыл бұрын

    This makes a lot of sense! Thank you for sharing

  • @janpracht6662
    @janpracht66622 жыл бұрын

    My grandfather (1904-1997) fought in ww2 in Netherlands and Belgium. He had luck, at the end he got into British captivity for some months and came home unharmedly afterwards. He was not a very convinced Nazi and did not make a big career in Deutsche Armee, but in his attitude sometimes you still could see how deep Hitler's propanada had worked: My grandfather did not deny Holocaust, but he relativized ist ("It was not so terrible, the jews even got diet-food when they were sick"), he started our meal with "Deutsche Arbeiter, fanget an!" (German workers, start now!) and had a lot of anti-semitic sayings. Today, in the year 2021, we easily can say: No, I never would have have taken part in Holocaust and ww2! But we should consider, to say "no" meant in the Hitler- time that you are a Volksverräter (traitor to the people) and you got either tortured in prison or even murdered. The people in this time loved their own lives, too...

  • @PRSer
    @PRSer2 жыл бұрын

    When I think about Germany or want to talk to Germans. My first thoughts are always about football, beer and BMW. WW2 is far down the list unless the situation or the social gathering calls for a comment or discussion on it.

  • @dilara9899
    @dilara98992 жыл бұрын

    We learned about the steps that lead to the democracy, how Hitler became the dictator, the economic/social etc. changes under Hitlers rule, the wars (the progression of it) , the ww2 (how it began and ended) and then we learned how things changed after Hitler and how Germany was divided into DDR and Brd

  • @xixinova
    @xixinova2 жыл бұрын

    I write from England. It was good to talk about WW2. From the same perspective please explain about US foreign wars e.g. Viet Nam, Iraq x 2 + divisive issues like crazy health care & education costs..

  • @noahremnek3615

    @noahremnek3615

    2 жыл бұрын

    In the U.S. we usually end history at the Iraq war

  • @CheburashkaGenovna
    @CheburashkaGenovna2 жыл бұрын

    Germans did experience the slippery slope from patriotism to nationalism, from rally grounds to concentration campgrounds and they have learned their lesson....

  • @l.a.3680

    @l.a.3680

    2 жыл бұрын

    We did. Americans on the other side did not. Or to be more precise, some americans learned, a lot of them did not.

  • @kellymcbright5456
    @kellymcbright5456 Жыл бұрын

    The world war is late in curriculum for an obvious simple reason: history progresses in timeline and the curriculum follows that since one chapter is built upon another, every point in history has had it's history coming before and having led to it happen in the way it happened. In 5th grade, first comes the ancient time, then comes medieval age and so son. And the world wars as 20th century are like the last chapter of history before history closes and "now" begins. This is so natural to me that i wonder in what other way history lessons could be organized. Of course you came just for a slice of history lessons for one year. Maybe you can tell the spectators how history lessons are conveyed in the states.

  • @witty2u
    @witty2u2 жыл бұрын

    Our past is not taboo in our society.

  • @maraj3747
    @maraj37472 жыл бұрын

    In germany we talk a looooot about it

  • @katakurisama7733
    @katakurisama77332 жыл бұрын

    Everybody I know , I’m German btw , knows that WWII was mainly our fault. There were other nations included and they weren’t really peaceful either , but no one will ever reach the level of Repugnance , cruelty and despicability Germany did

  • @pat_mc_fly
    @pat_mc_fly2 жыл бұрын

    It is part of our german history. Today no one has to feel guilty for what happened decades ago, so of course we are open to talk about it. The generation which experienced WW2 is probably almost gone, they may not have talked about it much. My grandfather which has served at the age of 14 in 1944/1945 on command didn't talk much about it. The family knew he served in Berlin and flew to western germany as he had a chance to escape from the cruelty of war. None of us wanted to ask questions and wouldn't even understand what he and other people went through during this time. He never saw, his parents and siblings again for the next 71 years. I think many countries have a dark history and shouldn't be to proud. The most important thing is to not forget about the past. BTW it is just luck or bad luck where you are born, wehter it is a wealthy country or not. It is luck and therefore you don't have to be to proud i think. Each and everyone can be proud of himself for things he/she archieved. Being proud of a country is senseless for me.

  • @novadhd
    @novadhd2 жыл бұрын

    Very good and thoughtful interpretation. I dont think discussing the war is taboo per se. What is taboo or frowned upon is discussing right wing ideology or a certain Adolf. As an American the war was described to much from American perspective and not so much how other countries suffered or were involved as far as I can remember.

  • @sarathsr6167

    @sarathsr6167

    Жыл бұрын

    Germany 1945 during World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/lGqemNegj8q-YcY.html

  • @merik14
    @merik142 жыл бұрын

    It's calles "Vergangenheitsbeweltigung", we deal with our past and acknowledge it to learn from it. I think other countries should take a slice and deal with their dark past as well.

  • @FranzN57

    @FranzN57

    2 жыл бұрын

    "...bewältigung", with respect. :)

  • @chubbymoth5810
    @chubbymoth58102 жыл бұрын

    The US very much reminds people with some historical knowledge of the Weimar Republic, Jan 6th I personally regard as similar to the 1924 Putch. I hope for the US that it will resist the path to fascism, but too few people in the US seem to have been taught how to handle criticism. I find it very worrisome how malleable reality has shown to be in the US and many other places for that matter.

  • @grischnach2556
    @grischnach25562 жыл бұрын

    I love to talk about it mostly because I love history in generall but espacially to foreigners I feel like I have the responsibility to show that germany has nothing to do with the war anymore. Germany in gerneral is pretty open and self conscious now. We talk about it later in school because it is a very complicated topic. I personally hate that there are so many symbols and cultural aspects that are much older than the third Reich but are a no go because no one takes the time to understand their origins. Specially when it comes to Preußen, many people associate it with the NAZIs even though it has nothing to do with them.

  • @MontanaShowalter

    @MontanaShowalter

    2 жыл бұрын

    yes! this makes a lot of sense and I think many german people i’ve met share the opinion that taking about germany is really important for people to understand the modern culture as well

  • @marks.6480
    @marks.64802 жыл бұрын

    One has to give the Germans a lot of credit for how they do not deny their past or avoid difficult questions.

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